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The competition for homes has been Tiger King crazy intense these past few years. With fewer existing homes on the market to sell and fewer new units available for sale (in part COVID shut-downs and due to material shortages), homeowners and investors like me have been forced to expand budgets and get creative with purchase offers. Beyond offering more than the asking price, a free rent back to the sellers, or waiving the home inspection, some buyers have been throwing in more unique items to try to make their offers […]

Renting a house by the night is a very popular these days — both for landlords looking to make some additional income and for guests looking for an experience beyond a traditional hotel. Usually called short-term rentals, travelers can easily find these opportunities through platforms such as Airbnb or VRBO. The advantage of using sites like these is landlords can often earn more money per night renting for a few days at a time vs. a rental with a yearly lease. For example, it may be possible to rent a […]

No matter how “hot” the market is, the competitive is always stiff when it comes to attracting and retaining good tenants, meaning tenants who will pay their rent on time and care for your property as if it were their own. That’s why it’s important for landlords to think through what amenities to advertise to tenants. Amenities are a great way to attract potential renters through marketing your property; however, keep in mind whatever you offer, you’ll have to maintain going forward (unless you specifically say that you won’t be). […]

Spoiler alert – I am not a lawyer nor to I play one on TV. Get legal advice from a real lawyer. Really. This article is based on my own personal experiences. Mileage may vary. Create a limited liability company. There are lots of legal reasons related to limiting your liability that a lawyer can explain. However, the reason that I like having an LLC is it’s a good way to keep my rental investments separate from my personal finances. Once you get an LLC, you can also contact the […]

There is no exact science to setting the rent. All units, blocks and neighborhoods are a little bit different so it makes it hard to compare apples to apples. What I do when it’s time to set the rent, is I look on platforms like Zillow to see comparable monthly rents for nearby properties. I also sometimes include sales comps as my general rule is monthly rent is about 1% of sales price — more or less. You can do this yourself or a friendly realtor can help run some […]

For folks trying to get into real estate, probably easiest place to start is buying a home where you can safely have an income property as part of your primary residence. There was a great show on HGTV about it and it’s worth finding the old episodes to watch (see Income Property). The basic idea is finding a home to make your primary residence that also has a unit that you can rent out for profit. Depending on where you live, that could be a duplex or triplex that was […]

Before you can start to invest in real estate, you need to first ask yourself how much risk is acceptable. I know, I know, that’s one of those vague questions they ask you when completing some 401k enrollment form, but it’s even more important when it comes to real estate investments as the money you invest will not be liquid. Basically, the most liquid of all investments is cash. When you have $1,000 in your bank account, it can be exchanged for $1,000 in cash or exchanged for goods or […]

As a landlord, the most important thing is having someone take care of your property and pay rent in a timely manner. Empty properties cost money. Evictions cost even more money so it’s important to do your due diligence to find good tenants. Good tenants – people who pay their rent on time and take care of your property – are like gold so it’s important to take care of them. Taking care of a tenant means making timely repairs and dealing with other issues they have, such as problem […]

Even though you may be teleworking and the kids are allegedly studying online, the real estate industry in Texas is still humming along with low inventory, but I’m starting to notice a few bargains out there. Real estate is actually considered an essential service by Governor Abbott and due to the pandemic and there are some sellers out there eager to make a deal. With the time you’re not spending driving to work or activities, now is the perfect occasion to get out there and snap up some investment properties. […]

Top 6 Tips of Real Estate Investing Real estate investing can be a great way to earn income while waiting for the market to appreciate. A good place to park some cash outside of fluctuations the stock market. Here are a couple of pieces of key advice: You Don’t Have to Live There. This the most important rule to real estate investing – you don’t have to live there, just find a place where someone else does. I get it, you want to be in a certain part of town […]